Read Online One Night of Sin by Gaelen Foley - Free Book Online Page B

water.
    “Becky, in here!” Alec called.
    What in blazes?
Hurrying past the hungry maw of that wide bed, she joined him shyly in the dressing room, peeking in with caution.
    “Voilà,” he said with a smile, then she gasped as he gestured to an extravagance the likes of which, she was quite sure, had not been seen since Nero’s day.
    She stared in openmouthed wonder at the built-in bathing tub of dark green marble ensconced in an arched, curtained alcove like the one that housed the bed. It had, to her disbelief, two taps jutting out of the wall with engraved tiles that labeled one, CHAUD , the other FROID . Water was pouring out of both spigots amid a cloud of steam.
    “Warm bath, my dear?”
    “But—what—how?” She looked at him in question.
    He smiled at her bewilderment. “We have piped water from a cistern for the cold tap. For the hot, the kitchen boiler lies on the other side of this wall. A pipe concealed inside the wall carries the heated water right through from the boiler to the bath, you see?” He reached across the tub and casually knocked on the tiled wall.
    “Ohhh.”
    “It’s new. Very rare. Actually, this is why I moved here. Only a few of the ground-floor apartments have them.”
    “Positively decadent.”
    “I know,” he purred with a leonine smile. “I’m a sensualist, what can I say?”
    “You’re spoiled,” she murmured in wonder.
    He slanted her a sudden frown. “I’m sure I am not spoiled,” he riposted in a somewhat prickly tone.
    Had she struck a nerve? Becky tore her gaze from the steaming bath and looked at him in surprise. “I was only jesting.”
    “Humph.” He rose languidly from the edge of the tub, showing her a glimmer of his high-society hauteur. “If there is one thing in this world that I treat with dead seriousness,
cherie,
it is pleasure.” He gestured toward the bath with a courtly flourish. “Enjoy.”
    “Pardon?”
    “Soap. Towels.” He pointed to these items on the shelf nearby while the water continued splashing merrily into the tub. “Just turn the handles on the taps when it’s filled. You’re welcome to use my dressing gown when you’re through.” He nodded to a long robe of paper-thin, royal blue silk hanging on a peg.
    “But Alec—”
    “But nothing,
ma petite.
I will not permit you to expire of a fever from the storm like some tragic heroine in a pantomime. I want you out of those wet clothes, posthaste—perhaps you shall require some assistance in disrobing?” he offered, turning back to her, one eyebrow raised suggestively as his glance skipped down over her body.
    She looked down at herself abruptly and realized her wet clothes were clinging to her in a most indecent fashion. “I—I can manage, thanks.”
    “I don’t mind,” he added with lavish generosity. “I’m fairly handy at undoing a lady’s stays—”
    “I’m sure.”
    “I set a record for speed once in that very art.”
    “Did you?”
    “Yes, it was a wager. I had to do it blindfolded, both hands tied behind my back. Forty-five seconds.”
    Her eyebrows lifted high. “How?” she asked faintly.
    “Using my teeth.” His smile was tranquil, slightly treacherous. “I like winning wagers.”
    She gulped.
    “Now, if you want someone to scrub for you, I am happy to volunteer—”
    He took a step forward; she jumped back.
    “Alec!”
    Alec stopped himself with that choirboy smile. “Right. I’ll just be going, then.”
    Becky shook her head at the scoundrel, but could not help smiling warily as he retreated. His blue eyes danced with mischief as he strolled to the door, sketched a bow, and withdrew. For a long moment she stood there uncertainly, then dragged her hand through her hair. It took her a moment to recover from his whirlwind presence, but then he popped his head back in the door.
    “Yell if you need anything. Don’t hesitate.”
    “Go away!” she scolded, laughing.
    “Right. Sorry. Leaving.” With a sparkling look full of pretended